Design-a-way retractable design wall and display aid

ABSTRACT

A Multiple-Roller Quilting Design Wall used by quilters or others requiring a vertical display for planning, designing, or presenting. An open faced box holding multiple (or one) roll-up sheets which can be unrolled singly, or simultaneously. Rotation of the roll-up sheet rod is controlled by the unique use of a friction clutch via a remote-control chain which allows the Design Wall box to be mounted high on a wall or over windows or doors.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Provisional patent application 61/430,961

Filing date: 01/08/2011

Name of Applicants: Robyn L. Embree; Walter D. Embree

Title of Invention: Design-A-Way Retractable Design Wall for Quilters

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Quilt designers, makers, or finishers (Quilters) often work with small pieces of fabric material (Pieces) that, when sewn together, create larger panels (Blocks) which will be combined to create a final quilt. Quilters often use a large sheet of felt, flannel, or other fabric material, mounted vertically to a wall (Design Wall), onto which they place the Pieces or Blocks in order to match colors, patterns, designs, or fabric types, or to gain a large-scale perspective of their quilt project. Normally, the Pieces or Blocks are expected to ‘stick’ to the Design Wall by the natural attraction of the two fabrics, using no other aids. These ad hoc design walls are often tacked, nailed, or otherwise semi-permanently mounted.

Quilters often have more than one project in progress at one time and limited workspace to display or mount these projects. In order to view a second or subsequent project or projects, they must first remove a current project to mount another project. More often than not, Quilters will lose their perspective on the first project and lose valuable creative ideas and time trying to recreate the design they were working with.

There are currently two design wall products on the market known to the Inventors. One uses a flexible-wire external folding frame and can be free-standing on the floor, or possibly hung on a wall. This device is generally known to be small(ish), and does not benefit from the multiple-roller concept, and is generally assumed to be limited to a single project at a time. The other design wall known to the Inventors uses a single spring-shade style roll-up rod, is limited in size, and does not benefit from the multiple-roller concept.

BREIF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Design-A-Way Retractable Design Wall and Display Aid (a.k.a. Multi-Roll Design Wall, or This Invention) uses a roll-up sheet(s), mounted to a furniture-grade frame, which can be hung such that the sheets, when deployed, will hang vertically as a Design Wall(s). This invention utilizes a heavy-duty pulley-type clutch mounted to the end of the support rod holding the sheets, unlike spring-based shade-type rollers found on home-made devices which are inadequate to handle the weight, and are prone to failure.

This invention allows a Quilter to easily roll a project up while the project is mounted on the Design Wall sheet for storage, transport, or to access an additional project on the other sheets of the same unit. By simply pulling downward on a chain, the Quilter can raise or lower a Design Wall Sheet to any length desired. Due to the use of the Clutch Chains which extend typically 3 feet below the Rods, the Quilter does not have to reach high to access the Design Wall, thus allowing the unit to hang high over doors, windows, or other convenient locations.

The material used for the Design Wall sheet naturally attracts and holds most normally used fabric Pieces or Blocks used in the art without the use of pins, tape, glue, or other aids. This allows the creative designer to freely move Pieces or Blocks to try many combinations quickly, thus increasing the ease and efficiency of quilt design and construction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(All Figures use a 2-roller Design-A-Way Retractable Design Wall and Display Aid as an example. Invention can have one, two, or more rollers)

FIG. 1-Right Camera view

FIG. 2-Left Camera view

FIG. 3-Front view

FIG. 4-Left Side view

FIG. 5-Back view

FIG. 6-Top view

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Numbers in brackets [#] indicate item numbers of Drawing Figures.

The Design-A-Way Retractable Design Wall and Display Aid [1] is a tool configured and created to allow Quilters, or any other designers needing a vertical design or layout space, to have multiple projects in the same space. It is ideally made of wood, like, but not limited to, pine or oak, but could also be engineered in many other mediums such as metal or plastic and other materials known in the arts. The Design-A-Way Retractable Design Wall and Display Aid frame is preferably shaped like an open-sided rectangular box, but could take on other shapes for functional and/or aesthetic purposes. Each box typically consists of Back [2], Top [3], and Side [4] Pieces.

Mounted to the inside of this frame are Brackets [7 a] which hold one or more Rod [8] assemblies, upon which the Design Wall Sheet material [11] is rolled.

The Design Wall Sheet material [11] may, or may not, have Hem Bars [12] attached on the bottom to provide weighted stability and to help hold the Design Wall Sheet material [11] steady during use.

Back Piece [2] would ideally be, but is not limited to, a range from 48 to 96, or more, inches in length, and would be, but is not limited to, ½ to 1 inch thick. The height of the Back Piece [2] can be configured and designed to a size appropriate to hold one set of Design Wall Sheet [11], or larger to accommodate as many sets of Design Wall Sheets [11] as the user chooses.

The Top Piece [3] would ideally be, but not limited to, the length of the Back Piece [2] plus the thickness of both Side Pieces [4] so as to extend, when mounted to the Back Piece [2], over the Side Pieces [4] and be comprised of the same material as Back Piece [2].

All frame pieces could be assembled using screws, glue, staples, dowel, or any other means, or combination of means, normal to the arts dictated by the material used (plastic, metal, wood, etc.).

The Design Wall Sheet [11] is typically made with, but not limited to, a vinyl-backed spun-polyester material, or any other fabric which possesses the ability for quilting material, sewing fabric, or other medium to adhere without the use of any aid. For example, if displaying paper, the Design Wall Sheet [11] could be flexible acrylic acetate which uses static electricity to hold paper documents or design documents.

Sheets [11] are typically from 48 to 72 inches, or more, wide; and from 60 to 72 inches, or more long, and typically mounted to a 1 ½ inch extruded aluminum rod [8] by double-sided tape. Rod [8] could also be of wood, steel, ridged plastic, or any material suitable in the arts capable of attaching to, or integrating with, the Retracting Device Clutch [6].

The use of a Hem Bar [12] would be advantageous to help hold the Sheet [11] steady during use. If used, the Hem Bar [12] should include End Caps [13], or other means, to secure the Hem Bar [12] to the Design Wall Sheet [11].

USE OF THE INVENTION

Use of the Invention typically starts with hanging, mounting, or otherwise attaching to a wall or other suitable surface such that the Design Wall Sheets [11] will extend downward as needed. Once the Sheets [11] are deployed to the desired length, the desired products (quilting fabric, paper documents, felt icons of emergency resources at an incident, etc.) are placed on the Sheets [11], and/or repositioned as often as needed.

Key features of this invention are the ability to roll up a Sheet [11] while a project is still mounted, and utilize an additional Sheet [11]. Or, the ability to roll up all Sheets [11] to protect the project(s) or to transport the unit. The ability to raise a Sheet [11] with projects mounted is made possible due to the use of the heavy duty Retraction Device Clutches [6] and Clutch Chain [10] drive not found on other fixed, or portable, design wall frames.

Additionally, once rolled up, individual Rods [8] can be easily removed from the Brackets [7 a] for storage or transport, and different Rods [8] with Design Wall Sheets [11] put in place. This cartridge-style loading of projects allows the user to have many projects available and to switch as needed, and is unique to this invention.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1-Right Camera view

FIG. 2-Left Camera view

FIG. 3-Front view

FIG. 4-Left Side view

FIG. 5-Back view

FIG. 6-Top view

Reference Number Name of Part 1 Design-A-Way Retractable Design Wall and Display Aid 2 Back Piece 3 Top Piece 4 Side Piece 5 Decorative Fascia 6 Retracting Device Clutch 7a Mounting Bracket 7b Mounting Bracket 8 Design Wall Sheet Rod 9 Design Wall Sheet Rod Insert 10 Clutch Chain 11 Design Wall Sheet Material 12 Design Wall Sheet Hem Bar(s) 13 Design Wall Sheet Hem Bar End Caps 

1. A tool used by Quilters or others to vertically hold, design, or display quilting or other projects, consisting of: a mounting frame or box; one or more Design Wall Sheet Rod(s) mounted to said frame or box; a Design Wall Sheet mounted to, and rolled up onto, said Design Wall Sheet Rod(s); and using a Clutch Chain attached to a Retracting Device Clutch(s) to raise or lower the Design Wall Sheet(s).
 2. The combination defined in claim 1 consists of at least one (1) Design Wall Sheet Rod (Rod), or as many as three (3) or more Rods mounted to the interior of the frame or box with Mounting Brackets, with Rod lengths typically ranging from 24 inches to 96, or more, inches in length, and controlled remotely by the use of a Clutch Chain operating through the Retracting Device Clutch.
 3. As defined in claim 2, when using multiple Rods, the Mounting Brackets are mounted for each end of a Rod and positioned so each Rod is oriented horizontally with the highest Rod being the longest, and subsequent lower Rods being incrementally shorter by ⅝″ with the lower Mounting Brackets being offset on at least one end to allow uninhibited Clutch Chain movement of the Chains controlling the higher Rods.
 4. As described in claim 2, each Design Wall Sheet is no wider then the narrowest (lowest) Design Wall Sheet thus allowing all Design Wall Sheets to lower or raise within the Mounting Brackets of all lower Rods allowing multiple Design Wall Sheets to be in use simultaneously.
 5. The rotational movement (rolling or unrolling) of each Rod is controlled by a friction type Retracting Clutch consisting of internal friction springs which; bind when rotational force is applied from the Rod, thereby locking the Rod into its current position, then; loosen when the rotational force is applied via the Clutch Chain, allowing controlled positioning (raising or lowering) of the Design Wall Sheet.
 6. Design Wall Sheet Rod assemblies, comprising Rods, Sheets, Retracting Clutch, Rod Insert, and Clutch Chain, may be quickly removed from and/or replaced on the Mounting Brackets allowing the user to have many Design Wall Sheet Rod assemblies ready to mount on the Mounting Frame or box. 